Posts Tagged ‘westerns’

Year 12 of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour gets off to a roaring start, with 12 bonus minutes in an episode mostly dedicated to movies …

As so many episodes of late have, this season begins with “Celebrity Deaths” as your friends in podcasting celebrate the career of filmmaker Michael Anderson and remember their friend George Baker of Modesto, California. Then, a few minutes are spent weighing in on HBO shows – namely “Westworld”, “Silicon Valley” and “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling”. The Cannes Film Festival starts this week and Dean and Phil commemorate its opening by critiquing last year’s Palme D’Or winner The Square. This leads into a discussion of the recent Lady Macbeth, 1955′s Blackboard Jungle and Hitchcock’s 1966 spy thriller Torn Curtain. A letter from loyal listener Stephen D. Fowler (of the Smokin’ All Stars) sets the topics for the 2nd half of the show, where Dean and Phil weigh in on what’s next for several franchises: Star Wars, Star Trek, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (including a review of The Avengers: Infinity War) and The X-Files. Plus, they try to figure out if there is any future at all for big-screen westerns, comedies and musicals. The answer may just surprise you!

Dean is having surgery this week and Phil’s cat, Fuzz Aldrin, continues her brave recovery. Because some of you asked for updates on these matters, your friends in podcasting begin this week’s epic installment with fascinating and inspiring stories pertaining to them. Then, it’s all about movies …

The critics groups have all awarded their favorites. The professional guilds and unions have honored theirs. The Academy Award nominations were announced, which your Dean and Phil analyze a bit on the show. For the most part, however, this week it’s Dean and Phil’s turn. Keep those Netflix queues handy as the gents count down their Top Ten Films of 2017. And, of course, far more than 20 films will get discussed in what is an extra-long installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour, one that truly stretches the definition of “hour”! Trust us, they go off the beaten path for their choices this year in an effort to champion some films that were sadly overlooked or under-marketed. Discover cinematic gems and regale in hilarious, irreverent, and occasionally insightful bickering.

With how much ground your friends in podcasting cover on this week’s show, you’ll forgive them going almost eight minutes overtime, won’t you? The show starts with a “Live Event of the Week” as Phil regales Dean with tales of his 49th birthday celebrations on a day that involved marionettes, Norse mythology and the oldest restaurant in Hollywood. Then, for the first time in ages, Dean and Phil discuss what they’re reading. After that, it’s onto “Celebrity Deaths” which contains a correction of a correction from last week, as well as remembrances of a former teen idol, a jazz great, a country music great, a gospel great and two award-winning actors. Then, a few more thoughts about the latest news involving toxic masculinity, the United States Senate and “Whataboutism” before Dean and Phil roll up their sleeves to discuss almost a dozen movies, including both the 1974 and 2017 versions of Murder on the Orient Express, Orson Welles’ 1952 Othello, Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women, and this year’s award hopefuls Last Flag Flying, Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, Mudbound, Hostiles and The Disaster Artist.

And speaking of movies, your friends in podcasting need help finishing the long-awaited sequel to their epic documentary The Truth Is Out There … Please visit http://igg.me/at/truthmovie2 and give what you can. Every dollar donated makes a difference! Or, so they can access the funds right away, donate on their
PayPal form (all comparable “perks” on Indiegogo will be honored)!

Even though the Emmy Awards celebrating Television took place last night, your friends in podcasting spend the entire hour (and ten minutes) talking movies. First, they start by celebrating the life and career of the singular Harry Dean Stanton. Then, they discuss misogyny and sexual assault in the movie exhibition business. Finally, Dean and Phil tackle a wide range of cinematic endeavors, including two surrealist (absurdist?) classics by Luis Bunuel, a late classic western by Sam Peckinpah, an all-star war film from the 1970′s, the restored director’s cut of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and an Alfred Hitchcock comedy. Pass the popcorn – We’re talking movies!

In many ways, this week’s show is a sequel to last week’s episode #534, with the promised celebration of Jeanne Moreau’s life and career, an email from a listener about Tom Jones’ “The Young New Mexican Puppeteer” and more from the British Film Institute List of “the 50 films you should see by the age of 14″.

Unlike most sequels, however, this show is even more irreverent, insightful and informative than last week’s!

The festivities commence with a clip of Dean on Australian television telling a (bestiality?) joke, and then after a special opening (a tribute to Glen Campbell), Dean comes out guns blazing, ranting about the internet speeds of his adopted land. After Phil calms him down, they discuss the news of David Letterman’s new show, they urge people to save the Salem Cinema (a jewel of the Pacific Northwest), they talk about an interview they did with the late Jim Marrs and they continue their discussion about the “death of discernment”, this time focusing on an appalling memo crafted by a then member of the National Security Council.

From there, it’s onto “Celebrity Deaths”, where, in addition to the Femme Fatale of the French New Wave and Glen Campbell, your friends in podcasting remember a Tony-winning star of Broadway’s “The Music Man”, the star of an early television western series turned right-wing anti-government activist, and the man inside the Godzilla costume.

Finally, Dean and Phil discuss a 1982 Australian western, a 1954 western that influenced the likes of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah, the original King Kong, and the Will Rogers comedy Life Begins at 40.

Longtime listeners know this about their friends in podcasting: They are often at their best making sense of a world seemingly gone wild, and boy, does that seem to be needed this week! No sooner had they finished recording this show than news came in about the death of musical great Leon Russell, so Phil opens the show with a tribute to him and some thoughts about the election before joining with Dean for remembrances of another legendary musician (and poet and artist) as well as an actor who once embodied the epitome of suave cool. A few different and worthwhile films get celebrated, including Loving, the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the modern western gets discussed. The Presidential election results and how those results might serve by leading to positive change get analyzed in depth. Often YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour proves to be irreverent, informative and insightful. This week it is downright nourishing.

After last week’s special “Top Ten” show, your friends in podcasting have a lot to discusss! From Dean’s appearances in Melbourne to Phil’s attendance at a historic, Halloween-themed Victorian event, from revisiting their show counting down the all-time great horror films to following up on last week’s outstanding show that focused on westerns, from previewing future “top ten” shows to trying to make sense of the USA election season, Dean and Phil will roll up their sleeves and get it all done! Plus, they will discuss at least three television series AND more than a dozen films currently in development. It’s YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. Enjoy!

The great film theorist André Bazin described the genre of the movie western as “the American film par excellence.” Your friends in podcasting could not agree more! That’s why on this week’s show (their 2nd of 10 “Top Ten” shows commemorating this, the 10th year of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour), Dean and Phil count down their Top Ten All Time Westerns.

What films will make the list? What films won’t? Will Dean have difficulty numbering 10 to 1?

These questions and many more will be answered during the next 75 minutes. Enjoy!

A magazine came out this week with an article in it on the special episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour where Dean and Phil counted down their Top Ten Horror Films of All Time (Chillpak Hollywood Hour #486). Because of that, and because of the positive response we received from listeners like YOU, your friends in podcasting are preparing a similar theme show where they count down their Top Ten Westerns of All Time, and on this week’s show, they share some of the research they’ve been doing, celebrating a couple great character actors and getting into a discussion of HBO’s “Westworld” along the way. For the most part, the show focuses on new movies, like Clint Eastwood’s Sully, Mira Nair’s Queen of Katwe, Mick Jackson’s Denial, Christopher Guest’s Mascots, though the gents also preview upcoming films starring Johnny Depp and Benedict Cumberbatch. They also finally tackle the merits of Child 44, a period drama starring Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman that a listener wrote about a few weeks back. All that, plus the latest developments in the Star Trek fan film lawsuit in the return of “Lawsuit of the Week.” Wherever good podcasts can be found!

Disaster struck Dean Haglund’s home this morning, but the show must go on, with or without him. Fortunately, an old favorite stopped by to pick up the slack and guest co-host. Topics include: The death of Oscar-winner Patty Duke , Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice staking its claim as the most hated superhero film of all time (by both critics AND audiences) and how that hatred has the film’s distributor, Warner Bros., in full on scramble-mode, the return of “Daredevil” to the small screen, the horror genre, a whole bunch of current cinematic releases, upcoming releases as well as some very interesting news about films in development. PLUS a 1980′s indie classic from the UK.

Dean Haglund, the actor, improv comic and inventor (best known as “Langly,” one of the three computer-hacking geeks on “The X-Files” and their spin-off series “The Lone Gunmen”) engages in thought-provoking, insightful, and irreverent cultural conversation with his co-host and producing partner, independent filmmaker and certified violence prevention specialist Phil Leirness in the production offices of Rational Exuberance. Warning: Dean and Phil's usually hilarious and frequently inspiring discussions are habit-forming, so please, enjoy responsibly!